Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Popayan

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $1,398 in Popayan, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Popayan
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Popayan Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Popayan

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,398

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Phuket and in Popayan

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Phuket and in Popayan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,398 in Popayan.

Phuket $1,294
Popayan $1,398

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,204 in Phuket versus $2,091 in Popayan.

Phuket $2,204
Popayan $2,091

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,115 in Phuket versus $2,783 in Popayan.

Phuket $3,115
Popayan $2,783

Living in Phuket costs roughly 7% less than in Popayan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 4% below, Popayan is 3% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.39 ฿147

$7.83 COP 25.2K

-43.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.31 ฿1,078

$46.74 COP 150.3K

-30.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.70 ฿290

$9.82 COP 31.6K

-11.41%

Cappuccino

$2.72 ฿90.9

$2.77 COP 8,896

-1.81%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.93 ฿31.06

$1.36 COP 4,387

-31.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ฿16.67

$0.91 COP 2,919

-45.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 ฿84.5

$2.86 COP 9,208

-11.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ฿121

$4.26 COP 13.7K

-14.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 ฿58.1

$1.50 COP 4,819

16.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ฿48.42

$2.07 COP 6,672

-29.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.1

$1.99 COP 6,390

-24.62%

Eggs

$2.17 ฿72.5

$3.31 COP 10.6K

-34.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.09 ฿637

$8.28 COP 26.6K

130.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 ฿113

$11.20 COP 36.0K

-69.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ฿364

$14.18 COP 45.6K

-23.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 ฿98.2

$3.93 COP 12.6K

-25.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿56.5

$1.49 COP 4,792

13.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 ฿73.2

$1.82 COP 5,843

20.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 ฿70.9

$1.81 COP 5,833

17.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ฿48.68

$1.62 COP 5,204

-9.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 ฿45.66

$1.69 COP 5,438

-18.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 ฿35.91

$1.04 COP 3,354

3.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ฿18.21

$1.34 COP 4,309

-58.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ฿148

$4.02 COP 12.9K

10.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.25 ฿609

$13.00 COP 41.8K

40.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ฿59.2

$1.61 COP 5,171

9.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 ฿96.2

$2.27 COP 7,296

26.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.32

$1.17 COP 3,764

23.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,832

$56.8 COP 182.7K

-3.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ฿50.5

$1.71 COP 5,490

-11.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 ฿25.90

$2.15 COP 6,929

-63.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 ฿128

$8.15 COP 26.2K

-52.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 ฿49.65

$1.33 COP 4,284

12.03%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$26.9K ฿897.3K

$36.6K COP 117.9M

-26.65%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$26.3K ฿879.4K

$37.8K COP 121.6M

-30.28%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$97.8 ฿3,265

$111 COP 358.5K

-12.25%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$11.29 ฿377

$14.64 COP 47.1K

-22.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.19 ฿574

$27.47 COP 88.4K

-37.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.3 ฿2,281

$39.02 COP 125.5K

75.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.92 ฿365

Cinema Ticket

$7.43 ฿248

$6.76 COP 21.7K

9.91%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$530 ฿17.7K

$507 COP 1.6M

4.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ฿626.9K

$10.5K COP 33.7M

79.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 ฿2,059

$80.7 COP 259.6K

-23.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.25 ฿943

$58.1 COP 186.8K

-51.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 ฿3,204

$119 COP 384.0K

-19.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.8 ฿2,898

$104 COP 333.4K

-16.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 ฿24.1K

$802 COP 2.6M

-10.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 ฿17.0K

$506 COP 1.6M

0.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,950 ฿65.1K

$1,349 COP 4.3M

44.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 ฿46.6K

$779 COP 2.5M

79.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,192 ฿139.9K

$2,078 COP 6.7M

101.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,298 ฿110.1K

$1,794 COP 5.8M

83.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

-53.58%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Last update for Popayan: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$509 39.3%

Popayan

$506 36.2% 0.5% $2.8

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$267 20.6%

Popayan

$292 20.9% 9.5% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$126 9.8%

Popayan

$154 11% 21.6% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$123 9.5%

Popayan

$163 11.6% 32.7% $40

Eating Out

Phuket

$120 9.2%

Popayan

$157 11.2% 31.5% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$83 6.4%

Popayan

$53 3.8% 36.8% $31

Getting Around

Phuket

$66 5.1%

Popayan

$74 5.3% 12% $7.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Phuket and $802 in Popayan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $47 in Popayan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $292 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇨🇴 Popayan

🕒 Local time

05:25 5:25 AM

17:25 5:25 PM

12 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

318,059

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 3 USD

100 THB = 2.67 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.11 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.38 THB (100 THB = 3 USD). 1 EUR = 37.47 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3,217 COP (10,000 COP = 3.11 USD). 1 EUR = 3,611 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Popayan 18,740 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
Popayan

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Phuket vs Popayan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 7% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,940 in Phuket and $2,098 in Popayan to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $721 in Phuket versus $802 in Popayan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $530 in Phuket versus $507 in Popayan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Popayan. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 7% less than in Popayan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.